Scheduled for launch in February 2014http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=1181.msg837844#msg837844 (http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=1181.msg837844#msg837844)

Published on Dec 10, 2012

On Tuesday Nov. 13, 2012, the GPM core observatory was movedfrom the clean room to the thermal vacuum chamber. The spacecraft, wrapped in protective blankets, made the short trip by crane across the testing facility where it was then lowered into the 40-foot (12 meter) diameter test chamber.

GPM Anime Challenge :Dhttp://pmm.nasa.gov/education/animeAnime is a Japanese style of animation popular around the world. Anime characters have filled television shows and comics, and inspired costumes and educational activities. The Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM) and our partners at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are holding a design challenge for people around the world to develop an Anime character for GPM.

Published on Apr 12, 2013The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is an international satellite mission to provide next-generation observations of rain and snow worldwide every three hours. NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch a "Core" satellite carrying advanced instruments that will set a new standard for precipitation measurements from space. The data they provide will be used to unify precipitation measurements made by an international network of partner satellites to quantify when, where, and how much it rains or snows around the world.

The GPM mission will help advance our understanding of Earth's water and energy cycles, improve the forecasting of extreme events that cause natural disasters, and extend current capabilities of using satellite precipitation information to directly benefit society.

News and social media members have an opportunity to get an up-close look at NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's Core Observatory satellite Tuesday, Oct. 8, at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., in its final public appearance.

Reporters will meet at Goddard's Visitor Center at 10 a.m. EDT, where they can speak with scientists and view a new short film from Science on a Sphere called Water Falls. After the film, they will tour the clean room and speak with engineers who built the satellite.

GPM, scheduled for shipment to its launch site at Tanegashima Space Center in Japan after this event, is an international satellite mission led by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency that will provide next-generation observations of rain and snow worldwide every three hours.

Reporters also will have the opportunity to speak with scientists at Goddard's 15-screen hyperwall to discuss the applications of GPM data, including how rainfall data fit into climate models and contribute to understanding the bigger Earth system. All speakers will be available for interviews.

GPM is the first of four NASA missions launching in 2014 to observe Earth. It will provide unprecedented 3-D views of hurricanes, snowstorms, even light rain, and its data will contribute to the monitoring and forecasting of weather events such as droughts, floods and hurricanes. In addition, its long-term record of rainfall data will aid scientists in their studies of climate change.

To attend, foreign journalists must register by contacting Ellen Gray at 301-286-1950 or [email protected] by Wednesday, Sept. 25. Journalists who are U.S. citizens should register by Friday, Oct. 4.

NASA also is inviting 30 social media users to apply for credentials to attend the media day. Registration for U.S. citizens active on social media begins Wednesday, Sept. 11 and closes Monday, Sept. 30. Accreditation applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. To apply, visit:

Media Invited to View New Earth Science Satellite before Shipment to Japan

Media have the opportunity Friday, Nov. 15, to get a closer look at NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory satellite before it is shipped to Japan for launch in early 2014.

Media will meet at the Visitors Center at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., at 9:30 a.m. EST, where they will be briefed on the mission and speak with mission scientists. This will be followed by a tour of the spacecraft clean room and opportunities to interview the engineers who built the satellite.

Reporters also will have time to speak with scientists at Goddard's 15-screen Hyperwall about the applications of GPM data, including how rainfall data fit into climate models and contribute to understanding of the entire Earth system. All speakers will be available for interviews.

GPM, scheduled for shipment to the Tanegashima Space Center in November, is an international satellite mission led by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. It will provide next-generation observations of rain and snow worldwide every three hours, as well as unprecedented 3-D views of hurricanes and snowstorms. GPM data will contribute to the monitoring and forecasting of weather events such as droughts, floods and hurricanes.

To attend, media must register by contacting Ellen Gray at 301-286-1950 or [email protected] no later than Nov. 7. Social media registration is closed.

The core observatory for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission arrived at Kitakyushu Airport in Japan from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in the U.S.A. about 12:28 p.m. on Nov. 24 (Sun.) The GPM core observatory was jointly developed by JAXA and NASA. After arrival at the airport, the satellite was then transported to the Tanegashima Space Center by cargo ship for launch by the H-IIA Launch Vehicle. Its arrival here was originally scheduled for the 22nd, but it was delayed for two days due to bad weather in Alaska, where the cargo plane stopped for refueling.

An international satellite that will set a new standard for global precipitation measurements from space has completed a 7,300-mile journey from the United States to Japan, where it now will undergo launch preparations.

A U.S. Air Force C-5 transport aircraft carrying the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory landed at Kitakyushu Airport, about 600 miles southwest of Tokyo, at approximately 10:30 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 23.

The spacecraft, the size of a small private jet, is the largest satellite ever built at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. It left Goddard inside a large shipping container Nov. 19 and began its journey across the Pacific Ocean Nov. 21 from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, with a refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska.

From Kitakyushu Airport, the spacecraft was loaded onto a barge heading to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA's) Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island in southern Japan, where it will be prepared for launch in early 2014 on an H-IIA rocket.

"We have been building GPM hardware at Goddard for over four years," said Art Azarbarzin, GPM project manager, who traveled with the spacecraft on its flight to Japan. "We are excited now to get the spacecraft to Tanegashima and looking forward to the launch."

The satellite is designed to pool together precipitation measurements taken by a constellation of orbiting U.S. and international partner satellites, resulting in a single and comprehensive dataset of global precipitation every three hours.

The satellite will measure rain and snow using two science instruments: the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) and the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR). The GMI captures precipitation intensities and horizontal patterns, while the DPR provides insights into the three-dimensional structure of rain, snow and other precipitation particles. Together, these two instruments provide a database of measurements against which other partner satellites' microwave observations can be meaningfully compared and combined to make a global precipitation dataset.

The GPM mission is a partnership led by NASA and JAXA. Goddard built and assembled the satellite. JAXA provided the DPR instrument and launch services. The Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo., built the GMI under contract to Goddard.

The GPM constellation is a network of satellites from multiple U.S. and international space agencies, including NASA, JAXA, the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Japan; the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales in France; the Indian Space Research Organisation; and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.

Recent improvements to the Kitakyushu airport in Japan facilitated the transportation of the GPM satellite. A freshly paved concrete staging area supported a massive crane as it lifted the satellite into the cargo hold of an ocean barge.

This month, the number of NASA personnel at the Japanese launch site will increase from the normal staff of 50 to approximately 80-90 in order to allow 24/7 operations during Comprehensive Performance Test (CPT). This activity involves engineers making final preparations to the satellite and verifying that all the elements of the observatory are ready to support mission objectives.

Formal CPT activity is scheduled to begin on next Monday, Dec. 9, 2013 and all scheduled work should be completed in plenty of time for the NASA group to return home for Christmas.

The Global Precipitation Measurement mission's Core Observatory began its final Comprehensive Performance Test at Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on Dec. 9, 2013. The test will run 24/7 over the next few weeks as every system and subsystem is turned on and run through its tasks.

This is the first time all the Core Observatory systems have been powered on since its shipment to Japan. The results of the tests will be compared to pre-shipment performance test results to ensure than no problems have arisen due to transit, and that the spacecraft is prepared for on-orbit operations.

GPM's Core Observatory has more than 30 systems and subsystems that are being tested. Almost all the systems have fully redundant electronics in case of a failure on-orbit, so each test has to be run more than once. The engineering team for each system monitors the progress around the clock in the control room outside the clean room at Tanegashima Space Center.

The Global Precipitation Measurement mission's Core Observatory began its final Comprehensive Performance Test at Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on Dec. 9, 2013. The test will run 24/7 over the next few weeks as every system and subsystem is turned on and run through its tasks.

This is the first time all the Core Observatory systems have been powered on since its shipment to Japan. The results of the tests will be compared to pre-shipment performance test results to ensure than no problems have arisen due to transit, and that the spacecraft is prepared for on-orbit operations.

GPM's Core Observatory has more than 30 systems and subsystems that are being tested. Almost all the systems have fully redundant electronics in case of a failure on-orbit, so each test has to be run more than once. The engineering team for each system monitors the progress around the clock in the control room outside the clean room at Tanegashima Space Center.

Well, we've the second largest agricultural output of all countries - to feed the second largest population. Somewhere close to SIXTY percent of that crop land is rain-fed.

So you can imagine - how a mighty monsoon is regarded as maternal, even magical... while a meek monsoon is murderous.

All that...and the fact that it was mentioned in a Bollywood film way back in 2004... with the lead actor (Shah Rukh Khan) even justifying the expense of the mission!! (Although he didn't exactly use the arguments above, given he's cast as a US citizen (albeit of Indian origin) and is doing so at a NASA Press Briefing).

It's in the first five minutes of "Swades" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYASZNmTMVE) :)

GPM is an international satellite mission that will provide advanced observations of rain and snowfall worldwide, several times a day to enhance our understanding of the water and energy cycles that drive Earth's climate. The data provided by the Core Observatory will be used to calibrate precipitation measurements made by an international network of partner satellites to quantify when, where, and how much it rains or snows around the world.

"Launching this core observatory and establishing the Global Precipitation Measurement mission is vitally important for environmental research and weather forecasting," said Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division in Washington. "Knowing rain and snow amounts accurately over the whole globe is critical to understanding how weather and climate impact agriculture, fresh water availability, and responses to natural disasters."

With the addition of the new Core Observatory, the satellites in the GPM constellation will include the NASA-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership mission, launched in 2012; the NASA-JAXA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), launched in 1997; and several other satellites managed by JAXA, NOAA, the U.S. Department of Defense, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, the Centre National D'Etudies Spatiales of France and the Indian Space Research Organisation.

"We will use data from the GPM mission not only for Earth science research but to improve weather forecasting and respond to meteorological disasters," said Shizuo Yamamoto, executive director of JAXA. "We would also like to aid other countries in the Asian region suffering from flood disasters by providing data for flood alert systems. Our dual-frequency precipitation radar, developed with unique Japanese technologies, plays a central role in the GPM mission."

The GPM Core Observatory builds on the sensor technology developed for the TRMM mission, with two innovative new instruments. The GPM Microwave Imager, built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo., will observe rainfall and snowfall at 13 different frequencies. The Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar, developed by JAXA with the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology in Tokyo, transmits radar frequencies that will detect ice and light rain, as well as heavier rainfall. It also will be able to measure the size and distribution of raindrops, snowflakes and ice particles.

For more information on the Global Precipitation Measurement mission, visit:

Published on Jan 2, 2014For more information: http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/r...

For the past three years, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory has gone from components and assembly drawings to a fully functioning satellite at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The satellite has now arrived in Japan, where it will lift off in early 2014.

The journey to the launch pad has been a long and painstaking process. It began with the most basic assembly of the satellite's frame and electrical system, continued through the integration of its two science instruments, and has now culminated in the completion of a dizzying array of environmental tests to check and recheck that GPM Core Observatory will survive its new home in orbit.

NASA will hold a series of media events Monday, Jan. 27, in advance of the February launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory from Japan. The events will be held at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

GPM is an international satellite mission led by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) that will provide next-generation observations of rain and snow worldwide. GPM data also will contribute to climate research and the forecasting of extreme weather events such as floods and hurricanes.

The GPM Core Observatory is scheduled to lift off Feb. 27, between 1:07 and 3:07 p.m. EST, from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.

The briefings will begin at 1p.m., Jan. 27, and can be seen on NASA Television and the agency's website. Media may ask questions from participating agency centers by telephone. To participate by phone, reporters must send an email providing name, affiliation and telephone number to Rob Gutro at [email protected] or 301-286-8955 by 11 a.m., Jan. 27.

Other media events at Goddard begin at 11 a.m. with a tour of the GPM control rooms followed by the screening of the new movie "Water Falls," which highlights the science behind the GPM mission projected onto the unique "Science on a Sphere" platform. "Water Falls" debuts at select U.S. science centers in late January.

To attend these GPM events, media must register in advance with the Goddard newsroom by contacting Ellen Gray at 301-286-1950 or [email protected], or Ed Campion at 301-286-0697 or [email protected] U.S. citizens must register by noon, Thursday, Jan. 16. Foreign nationals must register by noon, Monday, Jan. 13.

For more information about the GPM mission, visit:http://www.nasa.gov/gpm (http://www.nasa.gov/gpm)For more information about "Water Falls," visit:http://pmm.nasa.gov/water-falls (http://pmm.nasa.gov/water-falls)- end -

After a holiday break, final tests for the GPM Core Observatory resumed on Dec. 30, 2013, with alignment measurements. The spacecraft's instruments and components, such as star trackers and thrusters, are attached to the main body in specific configurations. Spacecraft alignment measurement is analogous to alignment for the wheels of a car. The Core Observatory measurements ensure that no parts have shifted during its transportation from the United States to Japan, so they will work as expected.

For the test, small cubes are placed at each part that needs checking and an instrument called a theodolite, similar to a surveyor's instrument, makes exact measurements. Measurements are taken in both the horizontal and vertical orientations of the spacecraft, in order to "see" each cube, and were completed as expected with no problems.

In addition, the GPM team has made up the time lost due to weather delays during the satellite shipment in November. They are currently on schedule for the remainder of testing, which continues with a check of the propulsion system. The GPM Core Observatory is scheduled for launch from JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center between 1:07 p.m. and 3:07 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 27 (3:07 a.m. to 5:07 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Friday, Feb. 28).

Published on Jan 16, 2014Built at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the GPM spacecraft travelled roughly 7,300 miles (11,750 kilometers) to its launch site at Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island, Japan, where it is scheduled for liftoff on Feb 27, 2014 1:07 pm (EST). GPM's Core Observatory is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to study rainfall and snowfall around the globe, including weather and storms that the Core Observatory previewed on its trans-Pacific journey.

H2A F23 will be shipping to Tanegashima island soon.https://twitter.com/nvslive/status/423740384682856448/photo/1

From this vehicle, about 120kg lighter than previos vehicle (simplify the engine attach structure for 1st stage) and slightly cost reduction is introduced. http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASG1J4359G1JOIPE00C.html (Japanese)

Edit: I got the detail information. This is eliminated for SSB (solid strap-on booster) atachment structure, which is no longer used. SSB is last time used H-IIA F14.

Here is some photos 8)http://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/images/fotolife/i/iwamototuka/20140121/20140121064639_original.jpghttp://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/images/fotolife/i/iwamototuka/20140121/20140121064635_original.jpg

The world enters a new era of global weather observing and climate science in February with the launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, a new international science satellite built by NASA.

GPM, a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), is scheduled to launch Feb. 27 from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. The observatory will link data from a constellation of current and planned satellites to produce next-generation global measurements of rainfall and snowfall from space.

The GPM mission is the first coordinated international satellite network to provide near real-time observations of rain and snow every three hours anywhere on the globe. The GPM Core Observatory anchors this network by providing observations on all types of precipitation. The observatory's data acts as the measuring stick by which partner observations can be combined into a unified data set. The data will be used by scientists to study climate change, freshwater resources, floods and droughts, and hurricane formation and tracking.

“The water-cycle, so familiar to all school-age young scientists, is one of the most interesting, dynamic, and important elements in our studies of the Earth’s weather and climate,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “GPM will provide scientists and forecasters critical information to help us understand and cope with future extreme weather events and fresh water resources."

The GPM Core Observatory will fly 253 miles (407 kilometers) above Earth in an orbit inclined 65-degrees to the equator. This orbit allows the Core Observatory to observe precipitation from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle at different times of day so it is able to observe changing storm and weather systems that behave differently during day and night. Normal operations will begin about 60 days after launch. Data will be downlinked through NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center's Precipitation Processing Center in Greenbelt, Md., where it will be processed and distributed over the Internet.

GPM's Core Observatory carries two instruments to measure rain and snowfall: the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), designed by JAXA and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Japan, and built by NEC Toshiba Space Systems Ltd., Tokyo; and the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), provided by NASA and built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. Together, these two instruments will collect improved observations that will allow scientists to better "see" inside clouds. In particular, they both provide new capabilities for observing smaller particles of rain, ice and snow.

"Knowledge of how water moves around the Earth system through precipitation is vital for monitoring freshwater resources," said Gail Skofronick-Jackson, GPM project scientist at Goddard. "The data from the GPM mission provides unprecedented measurements of global precipitation. The GPM Core Observatory will observe detailed characteristics of rain and snow systems that are also extremely important for improving weather and climate forecasts."

The DPR precipitation radar adds a new frequency with which to observe precipitation, allowing it to capture ice and light rain. It will return three-dimensional profiles and intensities of liquid and solid precipitation that will reveal the internal structure of storms within and below clouds.

The GMI is a microwave radiometer designed to sense the total precipitation within all cloud layers. In addition to collecting data on heavy to moderate rain, four new channels will be sensitive to light rain and snowfall, two types of precipitation that are especially prevalent in mountain regions and the higher latitudes over North America, Europe and Asia.

Together, DPR and GMI will provide observations on the size, intensity and distribution of raindrops and snowflakes. Scientists will be able to use this data to look at how precipitation behaves and influences weather and climate patterns. These patterns affect the distribution of fresh water around the world, impacting supplies for drinking water and agriculture.

The GPM Core Observatory, built by Goddard, will launch on an H-IIA rocket provided by JAXA. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. is managing the launch.

GPM Core Observatory is the latest mission to support NASA's mission to monitor Earth's vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of satellites and airborne and ground-based observation campaigns. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing. The agency shares this unique knowledge with the global community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.

For more information about NASA's Earth science activities in 2014, visit:

"The deployment of the first batch of CubeSats, which had originally been scheduled for this week before being postponed following last week’s installation issue, has been postponed further to make sure that the CubeSats do not fall into the intended orbit of the Global Precipitation Measurement satellite launching later this month."

The Global Precipitation Measurement Core (GPM) Observatory is scheduled to launch on Feb. 27 (EST) from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan.On Feb. 11, the Core Observatory was moved into the into the Encapsulation Hal of the spacecraft fairing assembly building. Final inspections and preparations were completed for the installation into the fairing, which began on Feb 13. The fairing is the part of the rocket that will contain the spacecraft at the top of the H-IIA rocket.The encapsulation process for the H-IIA is very different than for most U.S. rockets. For U.S. rockets, the fairing is usually in two pieces that close around the payload like a clamshell. To install the GPM Core Observatory into the fairing of the H-IIA rocket, first the Core Observatory and the Payload Attach Fitting (PAF) are set up in scaffolding in the Encapsulation Hall. Then, the fairing is lifted above and lowered onto the fitting. When only a few feet remain above the final position, stanchions support the fairing while technicians go inside to complete the electrical connections. When this is completed, they remove the stanchions and lower the fairing to its final position, where it is bolted in place.Over the next few days, the installation process will continue, including the installation of access panels and mating connectors for spacecraft separation.

Published on Feb 21, 2014Join NASA as we count down the launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission starting at 12:00 PM EST, Thursday, February 27, 2014. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and it will set a new standard in measuring rain and snow around the world. As we build up to the launch from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, our NASA scientists will discuss the satellite's major innovations and the big questions GPM will set out to answer. Follow along on NASA Television (www.nasa.gov/ntv) and ask your big questions to the experts using #gpm on Twitter. GPM is scheduled to launch from Tanegashima Space Center at 1:07 PM EST on February 27, 2014. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/GPM.

Also, join in on the conversation on Monday, February 24, at 7:00 PM EST in our prelaunch TweetChat. Find us @NASA_Rain and use #gpm to ask your big questions to our project scientists and managers.

Published on Feb 23, 2014This video introduces Minamitame Town, near the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center, from where the Global Precipitation Measurement mission's Core Observatory is scheduled to launch on the afternoon of Feb. 27, 2014 (EST).

GPM is a joint venture between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The GPM Core Observatory will link data from a constellation of current and planned satellites to produce next-generation global measurements of rainfall and snowfall from space.

The GPM mission is the first coordinated international satellite network to provide near real-time observations of rain and snow every three hours anywhere on the globe. The GPM Core Observatory anchors this network by providing observations on all types of precipitation. The observatory's data acts as the measuring stick by which partner observations can be combined into a unified data set. The data will be used by scientists to study climate change, freshwater resources, floods and droughts, and hurricane formation and tracking.

Published on Feb 26, 2014Art Azarbarzin, NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement mission project manager, and Mashahiro Kojima, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's GPM/DPR project manager, reflect on the long journey the GPM Core Observatory spacecraft has taken to reach its last stop before orbit, the Tanegashima Space Center, Japan, from where the mission's Core Observatory is scheduled to launch on the afternoon of Feb. 27, 2014 (EST).

GPM is a joint venture between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The GPM Core Observatory will link data from a constellation of current and planned satellites to produce next-generation global measurements of rainfall and snowfall from space.

The GPM mission is the first coordinated international satellite network to provide near real-time observations of rain and snow every three hours anywhere on the globe. The GPM Core Observatory anchors this network by providing observations on all types of precipitation. The observatory's data acts as the measuring stick by which partner observations can be combined into a unified data set. The data will be used by scientists to study climate change, freshwater resources, floods and droughts, and hurricane formation and tracking.

Love seeing the N-1 rocket on display. The U.S. doesn't have a Long Tank Delta rocket on display anywhere to my knowledge.

- Ed Kyle

is the one on display at VAFB a Delta or am earlier Thor if so what type??

VAFB has a Thor missile (No. 284, I think) in the SLC 10W hangar, and the remains of Thor missile No. 292, which was destroyed in a laser test, in a boneyard. There are a few other Thors around, but few Deltas. There is a Thor Able - similar to the first Deltas - at Cape Canaveral and first-generation Thor-Deltas at KSC and Goddard. Other than that, I'm not aware of any other Deltas. Any additional discussion belongs in Space History I suppose.

GPM is a joint venture between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The GPM Core Observatory will link data from a constellation of current and planned satellites to produce next-generation global measurements of rainfall and snowfall from space.

The GPM mission is the first coordinated international satellite network to provide near real-time observations of rain and snow every three hours anywhere on the globe. The GPM Core Observatory anchors this network by providing observations on all types of precipitation. The observatory's data acts as the measuring stick by which partner observations can be combined into a unified data set. The data will be used by scientists to study climate change, freshwater resources, floods and droughts, and hurricane formation and tracking.

Second Go/No Go Decision -'Go'February 27, 2014 17:41 JSTFinal checks have been made for operational conditions of the launch vehicle, satellites, launch facilities, and tracking and control systems, as well as weather conditions. We now have gotten a go-ahead for loading the propellant, such as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, into the launch vehicle. Propellant loading preparations are going to start.

Terminal countdown operation to startFebruary 27, 2014 17:55 JSTTerminal countdown operation has started. Access will now be restricted within a radius of 400 meters from the launch pad.

9:41UTC(17:41JST), 2nd Go / Nogo decision Go decision. Permission to start work filling of liquid hydrogen, etc., to prepare for work.The terminal countdown is that work of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle F23 is , and began from 9:55(17:55JST).

Caroline Kennedy visited the country " beautiful . Wonderful " H2A rice Kennedy U.S. AmbassadorThe 27th , in order to visit the launch of the H2A rocket , Ambassador visited the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture . The guidance of Naoki Okumura President Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency of (JAXA), to see the rocket to move to the launch site from near the assembly building , was raised voice " beautiful . Wonderful " he said.

Talk Kagoshima International University of Kagoshima in the 26th . Was to be " able to respond to natural disasters understanding of the circulation of . Water example of one of Japan and the United States is working closely if Fukamare " for the Global Precipitation Measurement satellite that Japan and the United States jointly developed .

It also touched on the late Kennedy former president of his father who promote the Apollo program and experience that saw the launch of the U.S. space shuttle , in order to promote the prosperity and " innovation , father had always understood the power of space exploration . The launch of this the story was a special meaning is " there is also personally be seen the . Kennedy ambassador is scheduled to watch in the field also launch of the 28th .

We have put together in photosynth pictures of H-IIAF23 movement that took place from 4:00UST(13:00JST). It need toinstall silverlight plug-in, please see.By NVShttp://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=521dc626-b28b-432e-8573-25afd759dfbd

February 27, 2014 22:55 JSTRadio frequency system checked upThe radio frequency system between H-IIA F23 and the ground stations has been checked up.

February 27, 2014 22:56 JSTFirst stage and second stage liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks fully loadedIt has been confirmed that the first- and second-stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks have been fully loaded.

Any MHI press kit for this? http://h2a.mhi.co.jp/library/archives/index.html has nice press kits for some of the earlier H2 missions but I haven't found anything for this flight yet. They usually have nice detailed timelines and drawings of the drop zones and so on...

The four-ton spacecraft launched aboard a Japanese H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island in southern Japan. The GPM spacecraft separated from the rocket 16 minutes after launch, at an altitude of 247 miles (398 kilometers). The solar arrays deployed 10 minutes after spacecraft separation, to power the spacecraft.

"With this launch, we have taken another giant leap in providing the world with an unprecedented picture of our planet's rain and snow," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "GPM will help us better understand our ever-changing climate, improve forecasts of extreme weather events like floods, and assist decision makers around the world to better manage water resources."

The GPM Core Observatory will take a major step in improving upon the capabilities of the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM), a joint NASA-JAXA mission launched in 1997 and still in operation. While TRMM measured precipitation in the tropics, the GPM Core Observatory expands the coverage area from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle. GPM will also be able to detect light rain and snowfall, a major source of available fresh water in some regions.

To better understand Earth's weather and climate cycles, the GPM Core Observatory will collect information that unifies and improves data from an international constellation of existing and future satellites by mapping global precipitation every three hours.

"It is incredibly exciting to see this spacecraft launch," said GPM Project Manager Art Azarbarzin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "This is the moment that the GPM Team has been working toward since 2006. The GPM Core Observatory is the product of a dedicated team at Goddard, JAXA and others worldwide. Soon, as GPM begins to collect precipitation observations, we'll see these instruments at work providing real-time information for the scientists about the intensification of storms, rainfall in remote areas and so much more."

The GPM Core Observatory was assembled at Goddard and is the largest spacecraft ever built at the center. It carries two instruments to measure rain and snowfall. The GPM Microwave Imager, provided by NASA, will estimate precipitation intensities from heavy to light rain, and snowfall by carefully measuring the minute amounts of energy naturally emitted by precipitation. The Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), developed by JAXA with the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Tokyo, will use emitted radar pulses to make detailed measurements of three-dimensional rainfall structure and intensity, allowing scientists to improve estimates of how much water the precipitation holds. Mission operations and data processing will be managed from Goddard.

"We still have a lot to learn about how rain and snow systems behave in the bigger Earth system," said GPM Project Scientist Gail Skofronick-Jackson of Goddard. "With the advanced instruments on the GPM Core Observatory, we will have for the first time frequent unified global observations of all types of precipitation, everything from the rain in your backyard to storms forming over the oceans to the falling snow contributing to water resources."

"We have spent more than a decade developing DPR using Japanese technology, the first radar of its kind in space," said Masahiro Kojima, JAXA GPM/DPR project manager. "I expect GPM to produce important new results for our society by improving weather forecasts and prediction of extreme events such as typhoons and flooding."

The GPM Core Observatory is the first of NASA's five Earth science missions launching this year. With a fleet of satellites and ambitious airborne and ground-based observation campaigns, NASA monitors Earth's vital signs from land, air and space. NASA also develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge with the global community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.

For more information about NASA's Earth science activities this year, visit:

Any MHI press kit for this? http://h2a.mhi.co.jp/library/archives/index.html has nice press kits for some of the earlier H2 missions but I haven't found anything for this flight yet. They usually have nice detailed timelines and drawings of the drop zones and so on...

Try this.http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2013/12/20131226_h2af23.pdf

And here is piggy back payload press kit.http://www.satnavi.jaxa.jp/gpmdpr_special/links/files/gpm_project_small_satellite.pdf

Any MHI press kit for this? http://h2a.mhi.co.jp/library/archives/index.html has nice press kits for some of the earlier H2 missions but I haven't found anything for this flight yet. They usually have nice detailed timelines and drawings of the drop zones and so on...

Try this.http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2013/12/20131226_h2af23.pdf

And here is piggy back payload press kit.http://www.satnavi.jaxa.jp/gpmdpr_special/links/files/gpm_project_small_satellite.pdf

March 25, 2014 First Images Available from NASA-JAXA Global Rain and Snowfall Satellite

NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have released the first images captured by their newest Earth-observing satellite, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, which launched into space Feb. 27.

The images show precipitation falling inside a March 10 cyclone over the northwest Pacific Ocean, approximately 1,000 miles east of Japan. The data were collected by the GPM Core Observatory's two instruments: JAXA's Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), which imaged a three-dimensional cross-section of the storm; and, NASA's GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), which observed precipitation across a broad swath.

"It was really exciting to see this high-quality GPM data for the first time," said GPM project scientist Gail Skofronick-Jackson at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "I knew we had entered a new era in measuring precipitation from space. We now can measure global precipitation of all types, from light drizzle to heavy downpours to falling snow."

The satellite's capabilities are apparent in the first images of the cyclone. Cyclones such as the one imaged -- an extra-tropical cyclone -- occur when masses of warm air collide with masses of cold air north or south of the tropics. These storm systems can produce rain, snow, ice, high winds, and other severe weather. In these first images, the warm front ahead of the cyclone shows a broad area of precipitation -- in this case, rain -- with a narrower band of precipitation associated with the cold front trailing to the southwest. Snow is seen falling in the northern reaches of the storm.

The GMI instrument has 13 channels that measure natural energy radiated by Earth's surface and also by precipitation itself. Liquid raindrops and ice particles affect the microwave energy differently, so each channel is sensitive to a different precipitation type. With the addition of four new channels, the GPM Core Observatory is the first spacecraft designed to detect light rain and snowfall from space.

In addition to seeing all types of rain, GMI's technological advancements allow the instrument to identify rain structures as small as about 3 to 9 miles (5 to 15 kilometers) across. This higher resolution is a significant improvement over the capability of an earlier instrument flown on the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission in 1997.

"You can clearly see them in the GMI data because the resolution is that much better," said Skofronick-Jackson.

The DPR instrument adds another dimension to the observations that puts the data into high relief. The radar sends signals that bounce off the raindrops and snowflakes to reveal the 3D structure of the entire storm. Like GMI, its two frequencies are sensitive to different rain and snow particle sizes. One frequency senses heavy and moderate rain. A new, second radar frequency is sensitive to lighter rainfall and snowfall.

"Both return independent measurements of the size of raindrops or snowflakes and how they are distributed within the weather system," said DPR scientist Bob Meneghini at Goddard. "DPR allows scientists to see at what height different types of rain and snow or a mixture occur -- details that show what is happening inside sometimes complicated storm systems."

The DPR data, combined with data from GMI, also contribute to more accurate rain estimates. Scientists use the data from both instruments to calculate the rain rate, which is how much rain or snow falls to Earth. Rain rate is one of the Core Observatory's essential measurements for understanding where water is on Earth and where it's going.

"All this new information comes together to help us better understand how fresh water moves through Earth's system and contributes to things like floods and droughts," said Skofronick-Jackson.

GMI was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies, Corp., in Boulder, Colo., under contract to NASA. DPR was developed by JAXA with the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology.

These first GPM Core Observatory images were captured during the first few weeks after launch, when mission controllers at the NASA Goddard Mission Operations Center put the spacecraft and its science instruments through their paces to ensure they were healthy and functioning as expected. The engineering team calibrates the sensors, and Goddard's team at the Precipitation Processing System verifies the accuracy of the data.

This initial science data from the GPM Core Observatory will be validated and then released for free by September online at:

Published on Feb 26, 2015At 10:05 a.m. EST on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's Core Observatory flew over a snow storm that covered most of the Washington, D.C., metro area leaving as much as 9 inches of snow in some of the surrounding suburbs.

Published on Feb 26, 2015In this animation the orbit paths of the NASA partner satellites of the GPM constellation fill in blue as the instruments pass over Earth. Rainfall appears light blue for light rain, yellow for moderate, and red for heavy rain. Partner satellites are traced in green and purple, and the GPM Core is traced in red.

You Tube Video:Published on Feb 26, 2015NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement mission has produced its first global map of rainfall and snowfall. The GPM Core Observatory launched one year ago on Feb. 27, 2014 as a collaboration between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and acts as the standard to unify precipitation measurements from a network of 12 satellites. The result is NASA's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM data product, called IMERG, which combines all of these data from 12 satellites into a single, seamless map.

The map covers more of the globe than any previous precipitation data set and is updated every half hour, allowing scientists to see how rain and snow storms move around nearly the entire planet. As scientists work to understand all the elements of Earth’s climate and weather systems, and how they could change in the future, GPM provides a major step forward in providing the scientific community comprehensive and consistent measurements of precipitation.

Published on Feb 26, 2015What does building a satellite look like? In this timelapse of clean room footage from 2011 to 2014, watch the Global Precipitation Measurement mission's Core Observatory come together at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center then fly across the Pacific where mission partner, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, prepared and launched it into orbit, on Feb. 27, 2014.

The Global Precipitation Measurement mission observes rain and snowfall worldwide every three hours, which contributes to the monitoring and forecasting of weather events such as droughts, floods and hurricanes, as well scientific research on precipitation and climate change.

Published on Feb 26, 2015The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory captured a 3-D image of a winter storm on Feb. 17, 2015, that left 6 to 12 inches of snow over much of Kentucky, southwestern West Virginia and northwestern North Carolina. The shades of blue indicate rates of snowfall, with more intense snowfall shown in darker blue. Intense rainfall is shown in red. The imagery shows great variation in precipitation types over the southeastern United States.

The GPM Core Observatory carries two instruments that show the location and intensity of rain and snow, which constitutes a crucial part of the storm structure – and helps to define how it will develop. The GPM Microwave Imager sees through the tops of clouds to observe how much and where precipitation occurs, while the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar observes precise details of precipitation in three dimensions.

GPM data is part of the toolbox of satellite data used by forecasters and scientists to understand how storms form. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Published on Apr 1, 2015For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/t...

Rain, snow, hail, ice, and every slushy mix in between make up the precipitation that touches everyone on our planet. But not all places rain equally. Precipitation falls differently in different parts of the world, as you see in NASA's new video that captures every shower, every snow storm and every hurricane from August 4 to August 14, 2014. The GPM Core Observatory, co-led by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), was launched on Feb 27, 2014, and provides advanced instruments that can see rain and falling snow all the way through the atmosphere. This Core Observatory serves as the reference standard to unite preciptiation observations from a dozen satellites, which together produce the most detailed world-wide view of everything from light rain to heavy rain and, for the first time, falling snow. Scientists merged data from 12 precipitation satellites into a single seamless map called the Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), or IMERG. Every 30 minutes, IMERG generates a new global map with a resolution of 10 kilometers by 10 km (6.2 miles by 6.2 mi), about the size of a small suburb. These comprehensive maps allow scientists to observe changes in precipitation patterns across 87 percent of the globe and through time.

Published on May 5, 2015The rainfall accumulation analysis above was computed from data generated by the Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) during the period from April 28 to May 3, 2015. Credit: SSAI/NASA, Hal Pierce

Published on Jun 9, 2015This animation shows the GPM core observatory total rainfall that fell from June 1 to 8. 2015 at the start of India's Monsoon Season as calculated by Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) processing .